Wake deputies accuse man of stealing $14,500 by forging checks

A Raleigh man remained in jail on $75,000 bail on Wednesday following his arrest on charges of forging and cashing $14,500 worth of checks stolen from a small Wake County trucking company.

Wake County sheriff’s deputies had arrested Eric Okhimai Aruya, 39, of 1826 Vintage Road at his home on Monday afternoon, records said, charging him with four counts each of forging a financial instrument and of uttering a forged instrument and one count of possession of stolen property.

On July 23, an arrest warrant stated, Aruya went to a check-cashing company and cashed checks for $2,500, $4,800, $4,500 and $2,700.

The checks had been stolen from Spurlin Trucking, which is based near Wake Forest, the warrants alleged.

A wealthy Russian man who has been the focus of media attention since the FBI raided his mansion earlier this month used a downtown Raleigh condominium as a “safe house” for guns, ammunition and cash, according to federal court testimony.